Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Celebrate the Freedom to Read

September 30 through October 6 is the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week. In 1982, Banned Books Week was launched due to the sudden increase in the number of challenged books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. Banned Books Week promotes intellectual freedom and the right to read.


If a book is "challenged" this means that there is "an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group". A "ban" removes those materials.

Since 1982, over 11,300 books have been challenged. According to the American Library Association, 2011 saw 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual freedom. Many challenges go unreported each year.

10 Most Challenged Books in 2011

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

3. The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism


Sources:
www.bannedbooksweek.org
www.ala.org

TLS @ Main

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